Differences between Max and Inventor?

[VintageTone]

Hi,

Any of you folks have any comparisums for architects or engineers between Inventor and 3ds Max? A shop I know is considering Inventor so that the early designs will be more accurate for later auto cad work, where as Max is now used for prototyping, but the meshes are too loose, and usually require considerable reworking before they can be used in auto cad. What would the plus and minus of the two be? What would any of you consider the strengths and weaknesses in your work for these two products?

Thanks!

[MegaPixel]

Hi Vintagetone,

 

I work for an Engineering & Design Company which uses both SolidWorks (Inventor's Prime Competator) and 3D Studio MAX. I tried the Demo for Inventor and it basically is SolidWorks with a different interface and the crapy Autodesk touch.

 

Solidworks, Inventor or Pro-E are hands down, the best tool for Precision Design using extremely high tolerances with parametric sketch driven control. They also support many file formats which are compatable "out of the box" with todays latest Rapid Prototyping and CNC Machines. Each program also has the ability to produce error free Autocad DWG files or, if you choose, you can do all of your detailing within the programs themselves. However, all of these packages severly lack the tools and ability to make your models look good or even animatable(MAX's specialty )

 

Now, if you are looking to suplement your Design package with the ability to present your designs with a great deal of realisim, then MAX would be a logical choice. It supports many engineering file formats such as DWG, IGES & STL so importing your design should be easy. As for what MAX can do for you, the possibilities are endless(Just ask your fellow forum members).

 

In Summary, if your ultimate goal here is to do precision engineering design, by all means go with any of the above stated parametric modelers.

Pros: Precision, Quick & Easy Modeling, AutoCAD Compatable output

Cons: Expensive, Crumby Visualization Tools

[VintageTone]

Good answer, thanks. Anyone able to use Inventor, then VIZ to get rendering done? Or is it black and white situation with 3ds Max or Maya the choice for work needing fly-through or realistic rendering? It seems the rendering would be better at a later stage of the design pipeline, with the initial work being done with Inventor or the like?

[Ryan Small]

Autodesk provides a free translator to import native Inventor files (ipt, iam, ipn) directly into 3d studio viz/max.

 

-Ryan

 

Checkout www.fabris.com

 

They are producing animations from their Inventor data.

[MegaPixel]

Vintagetone,

 

To answer your second reply, Yes. Autodesk and Discreet are in bed with each other now so they must make sure that their software can find export paths to one another. You should be able to work with Inventor files inside VIZ or MAX no problem. I think in terms of Modeling Technique and Rendering technique, the diferences between MAX and Inventor are very much Black and White and therefore neither are an All-in-One solution. You were also correct in saying that the rendering and animation comes well after the modeling/design phase.

[VintageTone]

Ok, thanks all